their tracers on him in a deadly hail of screaming steel. The Nardi
bucked and turned half over as a shell burst under her belly. Ragged,
saw-edged pieces of shell casing ripped through the wings. An exploding
shell ripped away the whole nose and the prop. Stan felt the Nardi
wobble. Her terrific speed hurled her on and out over the water, away
from the pattern of shells. But she was a dead duck and Stan knew it.
His greenhouse was mashed down close above his head. He tried the hatch
cover and found it jammed tight. Testing the controls, he found he could
still handle the ship in a glide.

Below him he could see two destroyers lying off the shore. They were
blasting away at the batteries he had spotted for them. In closer, two
PT boats darted back and forth, leaving trailing plumes of white foam
behind them.

The Nardi had been flying so low that Stan had no chance to maneuver. He
figured she would sink like a rock when she hit the water. Heaving with
all of his strength he tried to open the hatch. The cover refused to
budge. Green waves were reaching up for him. He smashed at the glass
overhead and was able to push out a pane. Savagely he battered away as
the Nardi settled down.

With a twist he laid the ship over, then flattened her, heading
straight for one of the PT boats. Now he was smashing with both hands at
the panes over his head. The glass cut his hands and arms, but he did
not feel the pain. He had a hole and he needed desperately to enlarge
it.

The Nardi nosed gently into the trough of a big wave, then it hit the
wave and crumpled up. Green water surged over the cockpit into Stan's
face. He heaved himself upward and fought to get clear. His parachute
was off and he was half out of the cockpit, but a great force was
sucking him down, down into the cool depths of the sea.

Stan felt the Nardi hit bottom. The thought flashed through his mind
that they were in shallow water. At a moment like this, cold, unwavering
control of mind and body was necessary. One moment of panic meant death.
Stan gritted his teeth and heaved hard. His waist pulled free and
suddenly he was floating upward. His lungs were bursting with fire and
his hands smarted, but he stroked hard and a few seconds later he burst
out of the water, blowing and flailing. The first thing he saw was the
PT boat. It was circling the spot where the Nardi had disappeared. Its
skipper waved to Stan and shouted.

"Keep afloat! We'll toss you a line!"